After impressing Webcor recruiters with their confident attitude at ASC Reno, Phoebe Follette was offered an interview that quickly led to a PE internship with Webcor this summer.
While managing check-ins at this year's ASC Regions 6&7 student competition in Reno, Project Engineer (PE) Intern Phoebe Follette (they/them pronouns) couldn't stop running into Webcorians-especially HR Coordinator Dante Robinson and (former) Assistant Project Manager Kristin Paulazzo. Eventually, they decided to introduce themself to Dante, who was immediately impressed with Phoebe's confident, professional attitude.
"When we go to recruiting events like ASC, we're looking for students who are brave enough to come up to us and initiate a conversation about their career goals," Dante shared. "When Phoebe approached me, it quickly became obvious that they were one of those students."
The connection was mutual-Phoebe felt instantly at ease while talking to Dante and, later, Kristin and appreciated their genuine, friendly demeanors and openness to candid conversations about their civil engineering studies and planned career trajectory.
"I'd heard from other students that Webcor treated their interns well and had delivered some great projects throughout California, so when they eventually offered me the summer internship, I decided to go for it and see where it would lead," they shared.
On May 23, Phoebe officially joined Webcor as a PE intern on the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) Biosolids Digester Facilities Project (BDFP), a project that's built an admirable reputation for being a fiercely dedicated community partner. Located in San Francisco's Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood, the BDFP team has committed to taking SFPUC's strict local hiring requirements even further by establishing hyper-local hiring goals-a testament to their steadfast devotion to empowering BDFP's surrounding community and championing the development of its local workforce.
It's a commitment that deeply resonates with Phoebe, whose biggest draw to the construction industry is the opportunity it offers to positively impact the lives of those for which they're building. "As I get further into my career, I'm really looking forward to seeing how I can invest in my projects' communities," they shared.
This summer, Phoebe looks forward to everything that comes with starting a first internship-gaining as much experience as possible and learning the ins and outs of the industry. They'll dive into the worlds of preconstruction and field work, which will culminate in leading a concrete pour by the end of the summer.
"I'm definitely looking forward to that," they said. "There's a lot of planning aspects to the building I've been assigned at BDFP, which we'll have to go over before starting the concrete work. I was told that I'll learn more about working in the field during the second half of the summer-not entirely sure what that will entail, but I'm excited!"
Although it's only been a couple weeks, Phoebe's already started to find their groove within the BDFP team. They quickly bonded with their fellow BDFP intern, Sam Henson, and their managers, Webcor Concrete Superintendent Gabe Zagorski and Project Engineer, Concrete Sarah Gustafson, during the welcome lunch Gabe and Sarah had organized.
"Getting a chance to talk to Gabe and Sarah in that sort of setting before walking onto the project was really nice," Phoebe said. "They made sure we felt comfortable and welcomed right from day one."
Outside of interning, you can find Phoebe taking care of their many plants, building Legos, or taking photos. "I like using 35mm film," they said. "I haven't been able to develop it myself in awhile, but the darkroom process is really fun!" Below are examples of Phoebe's work:
Webcor's partnership with Fortitude has culminated in hiring Luichi Pool as a drywall stocker scraper, making him Webcor's first hire from the program.
When Luichi Pool learned about Fortitude, a Peninsula-based nonprofit offering free training to young adults pursuing careers in the trades, he knew he'd just been connected to the potential opportunity of a lifetime. As a high school senior seeking alternatives to the traditional four-year college route, he was eager to graduate and pursue full-time work so he could start building a lucrative career and financially secure future for himself. All he needed was the right opportunity-an opportunity that would equip him with the proper training and experience to help position him for success. Immediately, he recognized the Fortitude program as the prime opportunity that it was and the impact it could have on his career trajectory. He knew he couldn't waste this chance.
"Before joining Fortitude, I worked in drywall for six months while attending Thornton High School in Daly City," Luichi says. "Construction has always interested me. Every day, I leave the job site knowing something I hadn't when the work day started."
Since December 2020, Webcor's worked closely with Fortitude's co-founders to organize engaging workshops for the nonprofit's young adult participants-typically high school students seeking practical alternatives to college enrollment. These workshops, known as Exploring Construction Careers (ECC) workshops, were designed to give Fortitude students an initial glimpse of life in the construction industry through in-depth job site tours and presentations from experienced construction professionals. In the last year, Bay Meadows Stations 1 & 5, Genesis Marina, and Tidal House have hosted several ECCs at their job sites. Project Director Ted Williams, who discovered Fortitude while researching local volunteer opportunities for the Bay Meadows team, connected all three projects to Fortitude's ECC opportunities.
Just over two years later, our partnership efforts with Fortitude culminated in hiring Luichi as a drywall stocker scraper on Genesis Marina in Brisbane, making him Webcor's first official hire out of the Fortitude program.
"Luichi is constantly learning," says Sr. Superintendent John McElwain, Luichi's manager. "He's learned about the tools, equipment, and materials we use in the field and how to properly use them. He's never hesitant about working hard-he has a great attitude and works well with others. The other workers in the field have greatly enjoyed working with him as well."
The feedback on Luichi doesn't surprise Ted, who met Luichi during his early days with Fortitude. After discussing the cohort of students with Fortitude leadership, he learned that Luichi not only took a long bus ride to class every day but had made a habit of sweeping and tidying up the classroom before the rest of his classmates arrived. After class, he would take the bus back to Daly City from the San Mateo Event Center, where the trainings were held throughout the summer.
"In addition to his commitment to Fortitude and his strong work ethic, Luichi demonstrated a genuine passion for Webcor from the start," Ted recalls, "When I met him, he had a list of prepared questions about the company that he was excited to discuss with me. It's powerful to know that programs like Fortitude create opportunities to completely alter the trajectory of someone's life-someone who otherwise wouldn't have access to these types of career-building opportunities. Engaging with the communities in which we build like this is incredibly fulfilling, in addition to being a Webcor core value."
Although Luichi graduated from Fortitude with countless impactful experiences and lessons learned, the most valuable one centered on respect-both for himself and those around him, he shares. That list of lessons has continued to grow at Genesis Marina, though at a far more rapid pace.
"I've learned to always be aware of my surroundings and memorize all the small details that go into the work we do," he says. "Although my career in construction is just getting started, I've already gained a lot of memories that I'll carry with me forever, especially those that involve working with my colleagues."
John commends Webcor for prioritizing community as a core value and supporting local workforce development. "Partnerships with local nonprofits like Fortitude give people a chance to start a productive, lifelong career," he says. "They also give Webcor the opportunity to employ residents of the communities in which we build."
Call for Fortitude Volunteers
Fortitude is currently seeking volunteers to support this summer's Build Program at the San Mateo Event Center. The Build Program's Life Mastery Curriculum offers career services and training on emotional intelligence, leadership, and financial literacy, and its Construction Curriculum educates participants on technological innovation, pre-apprenticeship and job readiness hands-on skills, construction trades-related math, and construction trades-related history. Build Program participants also earn their OSHA 10, fork lift, boom lift, scissor lift, traffic flagger, and Hilti tool certifications during the program.
"Our society and current education system have not done a good job of encouraging students to pursue careers in the trades," Ted says. "Nonprofits such as Fortitude, which are dedicated to educating young adults about our industry's various meaningful and fulfilling career paths, fill that void. Furthermore, these organizations strengthen the diversity of our workforce by targeting communities of people who likely haven't yet been exposed to these opportunities or have faced barriers to entry in the past. It's imperative that we continue to champion these types of local workforce development programs and do our part to support our communities."
The Contra Costa County Administration Building & Jail Demolition and Redevelopment (CCC ADR) team recently topped out the third floor of the county's new admin building.
The Contra Costa County Administration Building & Jail Demolition and Redevelopment (CCC ADR) team recently topped out the third floor of the county's new administration building, a major milestone and testament to the entire design-build team's efficient, seamless collaboration.
On May 2, the team celebrated with a traditional Webcor BBQ attended by our dedicated trade partners: PSG Rebar, Contra Costa Electric, J.W McClenahan, Cosco Fire Protection, Peterson Mechanical, Viking Steel, Commercial Exteriors, Applied Materials & Engineering, Best Roofing, Valley Waterproofing, and Vanir Construction Management. Representatives from lead architect Perkins&Will and project client Contra Costa County also joined the festivities.
Speakers included Chief Assistant County Administrator Eric Angstadt from Contra Costa County, who thanked the team for a smooth adjustment to this year's unprecedented weather delays and shared the community's gratitude for the project's lack of disruption to their daily activities; Deputy Project Director Santiago Harris from Vanir Construction Management; Assistant Construction Manager Matt Delaney from Vanir Construction Management; Superintendent Dan Deane from Webcor Concrete; Regional Manager Camden Story from Hex Armor, who gave a Safety Week talk on HexArmor's unique, sustainable safety gloves that meet ANSI/ISEA 138 standards and align with CCC ADR's TRUE Zero Waste goals; and Webcor Sr. Superintendent Justin Marsh.
Justin congratulated the entire team on reaching this highly anticipated project milestone with zero lost-time injuries, noting that they had spent the last few months consistently delivering high-quality work on an accelerated, stringent schedule while combatting unexpected winter weather challenges.
"Performing the concrete scope during an exceptionally rainy winter has definitely been the most notable challenge of the last few months," Justin says. "Thankfully, we got through it as a team, as we always do. I'm particularly proud of the exemplary communication shared between all team members-it's continued to be a major contributor to our success up to this point in the project."
Since the topping out celebration doubled as a Safety Week event, Justin took the opportunity to also share his personal insights on what it means to Speak Up for Safety and foster a safe work environment for all.
"When team members truly respect one another, help one another, communicate with one another, and commit to positively contributing to the project site, it culminates in a job site that everyone looks forward to showing up to every day," he says.
Since topping out on April 27, the team has hung the exterior glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) and framed and sheetrocked the level 1 interior priority rooms. Currently, they're aligning and welding the GFRC and framing level 2 with plans to begin framing level 3 this week. They plan to be temporarily watertight to start hanging sheetrock throughout the building on June 2 and expect to receive their temporary certificate of occupancy (TCO) by March 11, 2024.
Once complete, CCC ADR will comprise a newly built 3-story administration building and outdoor plaza featuring salvaged granite blocks from the historic Contra Costa County Jail built in 1904, which are being repurposed as seat walls and paving throughout the new public plaza; salvage and reuse of perforated wood panels taken from the original administration building built in 1962; and salvage and reuse of marble wall panels taken from the original administration building in 1962.
The new administration building will feature office spaces for various public work entities, including the Contra Costa County Sheriff's department, Contra Costa County Television department, and the Contra Costa County Law Library, and the outdoor plaza will be used for community events such as farmer's markets and public performances.
